Hannelore Kohl (person)

Hannelore Kohl was born in Berlin, but grew up in Leipzig, where she met the man who was later to become her husband. They met when she was 15, and they were married in 1960 after a long courtship. She was not as politically active as her husband and did not seek to be in the limelight, but supported him throughout the highs and lows of his career, throughout their forty-year marriage. She worked as a translator, being fluent in French and English, and was a worker and supporter for many charities, and author of a best-selling cookbook.

"A tiny blonde figure next to her husband, she was once dismissed by cynics as the "Barbie of the Rhineland" for her stiff hairspray and high-collared blouses." http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1424000/1424124.stm

She suffered increasingly from Xeroderma Pigmentosum, a skin disease which meant she was unable to tolerate sunlight, and she became unable to venture out of doors, to the point where she was not present at her son's wedding. The resultant depression finally led her to take her own life on July 5th, 2001.